Gunshots mingled with the sounds of fireworks over Chicago this weekend: 10 people were killed and 54 others were injured in shootings between Thursday afternoon and early today, reports the Chicago Tribune. Half of the casualties occurred during a nine-hour stretch from Saturday evening to early yesterday, according to police. Among the dead: a 7-year-old boy killed outside his home shortly before midnight on Saturday. Amari Brown was hit by a bullet "that was meant for his father," a known gang member who was standing on the front porch, police tell the Chicago Sun-Times.
"There were several people around that witnessed this heinous act, and we know somebody knows something," says the pastor of a church offering a $1,000 reward for information on the shooting. "The police cannot do it alone." "All the kids that are getting killed out here—it's crazy," a local adds. "When is it going to stop?" Police attribute the gun violence to "a broken system" in need of fixing. "Criminals don't feel the repercussions of the justice system," a cop tells CNN. Some 56 people were shot, 12 fatally, over the Memorial Day long weekend. Last year's July Fourth weekend saw 16 deaths among 82 victims. (More Chicago stories.)